Providing attachment control to manage attachments in conversation

ABSTRACT

An attachment control to manage attachments in a conversation is provided. An application such as a communication application displays a conversation of grouped messages in response to a detection of a selection of a message summary associated with one of the grouped messages. An attachment control is generated to manage identified attachments in the grouped messages. The attachment control is displayed in proximity to the conversation. An attachment drop down menu that includes a listing of the attachments is displayed in response to an activation of the attachment control.

BACKGROUND

People interact with computer applications through user interfaces.While audio, tactile, and similar forms of user interfaces areavailable, visual user interfaces through a display device are the mostcommon form of a user interface. With the development of faster andsmaller electronics for computing devices, smaller size devices such ashandheld computers, smart phones, tablet devices, and comparable deviceshave become common. Such devices execute a wide variety of applicationsranging from communication applications to complicated analysis tools.Many such applications display a message and attachments associated withthe message through a display and enable users to provide inputassociated with the applications' operations.

SUMMARY

This summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in asimplified form that are further described below in the DetailedDescription. This summary is not intended to exclusively identify keyfeatures or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is itintended as an aid in determining the scope of the claimed subjectmatter.

Embodiments are directed to an attachment control to manage attachmentsin a conversation. In some example embodiments, a messaging applicationmay detect a selection of a message summary displayed on a messagesummary pane. A conversation of grouped messages may be displayed on amessage body user interface. The conversation may include one of thegrouped messages associated with the selected message summary.

An attachment control may be generated to manage identified attachmentsof the grouped messages. The attachments may include listings of allattachments stored in the grouped messages (such as a conversation). Theattachments may include media such as an audio, a video, a graphic, animage, or a combination of media, among others. The attachments may bestored in mailboxes associated with the grouped messages, or in acontent provider, among others. The attachment control may be displayedin proximity to the conversation. In response to an activation of theattachment control, an attachment drop down menu may be displayed. Theattachment drop down menu may include a listing of the attachments. Theattachment control may also include a section that displays types ofcontent associated with the attachments, links to media associated withthe attachments and the grouped messages, or links to web pagesassociated with the attachments and the grouped messages, among others.

Alternate user interfaces may also be generated to manage identifiedattachments of the grouped messages. In an example scenario, anattachment user interface such as a panel may be generated with actionsto manage the attachments of the grouped messages. The attachment userinterface may be placed and operated in relation to the message bodyuser interface. An example of placement of the attachment user interfacemay include a location in proximity to the message body user interfaceof the messaging application.

These and other features and advantages will be apparent from a readingof the following detailed description and a review of the associateddrawings. It is to be understood that both the foregoing generaldescription and the following detailed description are explanatory anddo not restrict aspects as claimed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram illustrating an example of providing anattachment control to manage attachments in a conversation, according toembodiments;

FIG. 2 illustrates an example of an attachment control provided tomanage attachments in a conversation, according to embodiments;

FIG. 3 illustrates an example of an attachment drop down menu andattachment controls provided to manage attachments in a conversation,according to embodiments;

FIG. 4 illustrates an example of a selection action on the attachmentdrop down menu that activate a document presentation user interface,according to embodiments;

FIG. 5 illustrates an example of a document presentation user interfaceprovided to allow editing of content of a selected attachment, accordingto embodiments;

FIG. 6 is a simplified networked environment, where a system accordingto embodiments may be implemented;

FIG. 7 illustrates a general purpose computing device, which may beconfigured to provide an attachment control to manage attachments in aconversation; and

FIG. 8 illustrates a logic flow diagram for a process to provide anattachment control to manage attachments in a conversation, according toembodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

As briefly described above, an attachment control may be provided tomanage attachments in a conversation by a messaging application. Aconversation of grouped messages may be displayed in response to adetection of a selection of a message summary associated with one of thegrouped messages. An attachment control may be generated from identifiedattachments of the grouped messages. The attachment control may bedisplayed in proximity to the conversation. In response to an activationof the attachment control, an attachment drop down menu that includes alisting of the attachments may be displayed.

In the following detailed description, references are made to theaccompanying drawings that form a part hereof, and in which are shown byway of illustrations specific embodiments or examples. These aspects maybe combined, other aspects may be utilized, and structural changes maybe made without departing from the spirit or scope of the presentdisclosure. The following detailed description is therefore not to betaken in a limiting sense, and the scope of the present invention isdefined by the appended claims and their equivalents.

While the embodiments will be described in the general context ofprogram modules that execute in conjunction with an application programthat runs on an operating system on a computing device, those skilled inthe art will recognize that aspects may also be implemented incombination with other program modules.

Generally, program modules include routines, programs, components, datastructures, and other types of structures that perform particular tasksor implement particular abstract data types. Moreover, those skilled inthe art will appreciate that embodiments may be practiced with othercomputer system configurations, including hand-held devices,multiprocessor systems, microprocessor-based or programmable consumerelectronics, minicomputers, mainframe computers, and comparablecomputing devices. Embodiments may also be practiced in distributedcomputing environments where tasks are performed by remote processingdevices that are linked through a communications network. In adistributed computing environment, program modules may be located inboth local and remote memory storage devices.

Embodiments may be implemented as a computer-implemented process(method), a computing system, or as an article of manufacture, such as acomputer program product or computer readable media. The computerprogram product may be a computer storage medium readable by a computersystem and encoding a computer program that comprises instructions forcausing a computer or computing system to perform example process(es).The computer-readable storage medium is a computer-readable memorydevice. The computer-readable memory device includes a hardware devicethat includes a hard disk drive, a solid state drive, a compact disk,and a memory chip, among others. The computer-readable storage mediumcan for example be implemented via one or more of a volatile computermemory, a non-volatile memory, a hard drive, and a flash drive.

Throughout this specification, the term “platform” may be a combinationof software and hardware components to provide an attachment control tomanage attachments in a conversation. Examples of platforms include, butare not limited to, a hosted service executed over a plurality ofservers, an application executed on a single computing device, andcomparable systems. The term “server” generally refers to a computingdevice executing one or more software programs typically in a networkedenvironment. However, a server may also be implemented as a virtualserver (software programs) executed on one or more computing devicesviewed as a server on the network. More detail on these technologies andexample embodiments may be found in the following description.

FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram illustrating an example of providing anattachment control to manage attachments in a conversation, according toembodiments.

In a diagram 100, a computing device 104 may execute a messagingapplication 102. The computing device 104 may include a tablet device, alaptop computer, a desktop computer, and a smart phone, among others.The computing device 104 may display the messaging application 102 to auser 110. The user 110 may be allowed to interact with the messagingapplication 102 through an input device or touch enabled displaycomponent of the computing device 104. The computing device 104 mayinclude a display device such as the touch enabled display component,and a monitor, among others to provide a user interface of the messagingapplication 102 to the user 110.

The messaging application 102 may detect a selection of a messagesummary by a user 110 through a user action 106. A conversation ofgrouped messages may be displayed in which one of the messages isassociated with the message summary. An attachment control may begenerated from identified attachments of the grouped messages. Theattachments may include listings of all attachments stored in thegrouped messages (such as a conversation). The attachments may includemedia such as an audio, a video, a graphic, an image, or a combinationof media, among others. The attachments may be stored in mailboxesassociated with the grouped messages, or in a content provider, amongothers. The attachment control may be displayed in proximity to theconversation. In response to an activation of the attachment control, anattachment drop down menu may be displayed. The attachment drop downmenu may include a listing of the attachments. The attachment controlmay also include a section that displays types of content associatedwith the attachments, links to media associated with the attachments andthe grouped messages, or links to web pages associated with theattachments and the grouped messages, among others.

Alternate user interfaces may also be generated to manage identifiedattachments of the grouped messages. In an example scenario, anattachment user interface such as a panel may be generated with actionsto manage the attachments of the grouped messages. The attachment userinterface may be placed and operated in relation to the message bodyuser interface. An example of placement of the attachment user interfacemay include a location in proximity to the message body user interfaceof the messaging application. The attachment control and the panel areprovided as examples of an attachment user interface in a non-limitingsense. Other user interfaces may be used to manage attachments of agrouped message such as a conversation, or a message, among others.

The user 110 may interact with the messaging application 102 with akeyboard based input, a mouse based input, a voice based input, a penbased input, and a gesture based input, among others. The gesture basedinput may include one or more touch based actions such as a touchaction, a swipe action, and a combination of each, among others.

The messaging application 102 may retrieve the attachments in theconversation from a local source such as a storage media, a memory, ahard disk drive, and a solid state drive, among others that store thegrouped messages of the conversation. The attachments may also bereceived from a message services provider such as the server 108 thatprovides the grouped messages. An example of a message services providermay include an email server, among others.

While the example system in FIG. 1 has been described with specificcomponents including the computing device 104, the messaging application102, embodiments are not limited to these components or systemconfigurations and can be implemented with other system configurationemploying fewer or additional components.

FIG. 2 illustrates an example of an attachment control provided tomanage attachments in a conversation, according to embodiments.

In a diagram 200, a messaging application 202 may display a userinterface to display summary of messages and the messages. The userinterface may include a menu pane 204 that includes controls to switchbetween communication user interfaces such as an email user interface206, a calendar user interface, or a contacts user interface, amongothers. The menu pane 204 may also display a user control 207 thatprovides an operation to access attributes associated with a useraccount that receives the messages.

The messaging application 202 may also display a navigation pane 205that provides controls to manage categories where the messages may becataloged. A folders control 220 may include operations to provideadditional controls, which correspond to folders such as “sent,”“deleted,” and “archived,” among others in which the messages may bestored. A people control 224 may include operations to display summariesof messages based on a selected contact within a summary pane 210. Agroups control 226 may include operations to display summaries ofmessages based on a selected group, within the summary pane 210.

The summary pane 210 may display summaries of messages. A messagesummary 214 may display identifying information such as a subject, asender, and a sample text, among others of a corresponding message. Themessage summary 214 may also provide an attachment notification 216 toindicate that the message may include an attachment. The attachment mayinclude an audio file, a video file, an image file, a text file, and ananimation file, among others.

A message pane 218 may display a conversation 219 that includes amessage associated with the message summary 212. The conversation 219may also include messages that are related to the message associatedwith the message summary 212. In an example scenario, the conversation219 may include messages that are replies to an initial message. Themessage 214 and the related messages in the conversation may be referredto as the grouped messages.

The messaging application 202 may detect a selection of the messagesummary 214 in response to a user action. The message summary 214 may bedisplayed with a status change indicator such as a highlighting toindicate a selected status. In response to the selection of the messagesummary 214, attachments may be identified within grouped messages inthe conversation. An attachment control 208 may be generated from theidentified attachments. The attachment control 208 may be displayed inproximity to the conversation 219. In an example scenario, theattachment control 208 may be displayed adjacent to and above theconversation 219.

An attachment drop down menu may be displayed in response to anactivation 209 of the attachment control 208. The attachment control 208may also display a number of the attachments identified in theconversation 219.

FIG. 3 illustrates an example of an attachment drop down menu andattachment controls provided to manage attachments in a conversation,according to embodiments.

In a diagram 300, a messaging application 302 may provide an attachmentcontrol 308 to manage attachments identified in a conversation thatincludes grouped messages. In response to a selection of the attachmentcontrol 308, an attachment drop down menu 318 may be displayed. Theattachment drop down menu 318 may include a listing of the attachmentsin the conversation. A subset of the attachments associated with aselected message may be positioned at a top section of the attachmentdrop down menu 318. The selected message within the conversation maycorrespond to a selected message summary 314 that is displayed on amessage summary pane.

Ordering actions may be provided on the attachment drop down menu 318 toorder the attachments based on attributes associated with theattachments. The attributes may include an attachment type, a receivedtimestamp, an importance flag, a sender, a view frequency, and anediting frequency, among others associated with the attachment and acorresponding message.

The attachment drop down menu 318 may also provide a “download all”action 324. In response to a detection of a selection of the “downloadall” action 324, the attachments within the conversation may be saved toa local storage. The local storage may include a storage device directlyaccessible by the messaging application 302. The attachment drop downmenu 318 may also provide a “save to cloud” action 325. In response to adetection of a selection of the “save to cloud” action 325, theattachments may be saved to a remote storage provided by a cloud-basedservice. The cloud-based service may be accessible to the messagingapplication 302 through a network connection.

The attachments in the attachment drop down menu 318 may be displayedwith control menu actions located on a right section of the attachments.A subsequent selection 310 may be detected on a control menu action 315of a selected attachment 313. In response to an activation of thecontrol menu action 315, a control menu 316 may be displayed thatincludes attachment actions 317. The attachment actions 317 may includeoperations to manage the attachments. In an example scenario, inresponse to a detection of a “save to cloud” action 319 from theattachment actions 317, the selected attachment 313 may be saved to aremote storage provided by a cloud based service.

In another example scenario, the messaging application 302 may detect aselection of a download action 320 from the attachment actions 317. Theselected attachment 313 may be saved to a local storage. Alternatively,a selection of an “edit a copy” action 321 from the attachment actions317 may be detected. The selected attachment 313 may be displayed in anedit user interface to allow a user to edit the selected attachment 313.

In yet another example scenario, the messaging application 302 maydetect a selection of a “go to the message” action 322. The conversationmay be scrolled to one of the grouped messages associated with theselected attachment 313. Alternatively, the conversation may be scrolledto one of the grouped messages associated with the selected attachment313 in response to a selection of a part of the message associated withthe selected attachment 313. Additionally, a selection of a forwardaction 323 may be detected. In response to a selection of the forwardaction 323, the conversation may be replaced with a reply message thatincludes the selected attachment 313.

FIG. 4 illustrates an example of a selection action on the attachmentdrop down menu that activate a document presentation user interface,according to embodiments.

In a diagram 400, a messaging application 402 may display an attachmentdrop down menu 418 in response to a selection of an attachment control408. An initial user action may select an attachment 413 from theattachments of the conversation displayed in the attachment drop downmenu 418.

The messaging application 402 may detect an activation 410 of theselected attachment 413. The activation 410 may include an extendedactivation of the selected attachment 413. The extended activation maycorrespond to a sustained user action such as a tap-and-hold action or aclick and hold action on the selected attachment 413. Alternatively, theactivation 410 may include a double activation of the selectedattachment 413. The double activation may correspond to a double tapaction or a double click action on the selected attachment 413.

FIG. 5 illustrates an example of a document presentation user interfaceprovided to allow editing of content of a selected attachment, accordingto embodiments.

In a diagram 500, a messaging application 502 may display a documentpresentation interface 514 in response to an activation of a selectedattachment provided through an attachment drop down menu of attachmentswithin a conversation. The document presentation user interface 514 maydisplay a content 518 of the selected attachment on the documentpresentation user interface 514.

The messaging application may also provide a document management menu516 on the document presentation user interface 514. The documentmanagement menu 516 may include management actions to edit the content518 of the selected attachment. The management actions may include fontformatting actions, paragraph formatting actions, and save actions,among others.

The technical advantage of providing an attachment control to manageattachments in a conversation may include improved usability of userinterfaces that present attachments of group of messages of aconversation. The attachment control may also allow a user to manage theattachments of the conversation through a simplified attachmentmanagement interface compared to legacy messaging solutions.

The example scenarios and schemas in FIG. 1 through 5 are shown withspecific components, data types, and configurations. Embodiments are notlimited to systems according to these example configurations. Providingan attachment control to manage attachments in a conversation may beimplemented in configurations employing fewer or additional componentsin applications and user interfaces. Furthermore, the example schema andcomponents shown in FIG. 1 through 5 and their subcomponents may beimplemented in a similar manner with other values using the principlesdescribed herein.

FIG. 6 is an example networked environment, where embodiments may beimplemented. A messaging application configured to provide an attachmentcontrol to manage attachments in a conversation may be implemented viasoftware executed over one or more servers 614 such as a hosted service.The platform may communicate with client applications on individualcomputing devices such as a smart phone 613, a mobile computer 612, ordesktop computer 611 (‘client devices’) through network(s) 610.

Client applications executed on any of the client devices 611-613 mayfacilitate communications via application(s) executed by servers 614, oron individual server 616. A messaging application may display aconversation of grouped messages in response to a detection of aselection of a message summary associated with one of the groupedmessages. An attachment control to manage attachments in theconversation may be generated in response to an identification of theattachments in the grouped messages. In response to an activation of theattachment control, an attachment drop down menu may be displayed. Theattachment drop down menu may include a listing of the attachments. Themessaging application may store data associated with attachments in datastore(s) 619 directly or through database server 618.

Network(s) 610 may comprise any topology of servers, clients, Internetservice providers, and communication media. A system according toembodiments may have a static or dynamic topology. Network(s) 610 mayinclude secure networks such as an enterprise network, an unsecurenetwork such as a wireless open network, or the Internet. Network(s) 610may also coordinate communication over other networks such as PublicSwitched Telephone Network (PSTN) or cellular networks. Furthermore,network(s) 610 may include short range wireless networks such asBluetooth or similar ones. Network(s) 610 provide communication betweenthe nodes described herein. By way of example, and not limitation,network(s) 610 may include wireless media such as acoustic, RF, infraredand other wireless media.

Many other configurations of computing devices, applications, datasources, and data distribution systems may be employed to provide anattachment control to manage attachments in a conversation. Furthermore,the networked environments discussed in FIG. 6 are for illustrationpurposes only. Embodiments are not limited to the example applications,modules, or processes.

FIG. 7 illustrates a general purpose computing device, which may beconfigured to provide an attachment control to manage attachments in aconversation, arranged in accordance with at least some embodimentsdescribed herein.

For example, the computing device 700 may be used to provide anattachment control to manage attachments in a conversation. In anexample of a basic configuration 702, the computing device 700 mayinclude one or more processors 704 and a system memory 706. A memory bus708 may be used for communication between the processor 704 and thesystem memory 706. The basic configuration 702 may be illustrated inFIG. 7 by those components within the inner dashed line.

Depending on the desired configuration, the processor 704 may be of anytype, including, but not limited to, a microprocessor (μP), amicrocontroller (μC), a digital signal processor (DSP), or anycombination thereof. The processor 704 may include one more levels ofcaching, such as a level cache memory 712, a processor core 714, andregisters 716. The processor core 714 may include an arithmetic logicunit (ALU), a floating point unit (FPU), a digital signal processingcore (DSP Core), or any combination thereof. A memory controller 718 mayalso be used with the processor 704, or in some implementations, thememory controller 718 may be an internal part of the processor 704.

Depending on the desired configuration, the system memory 706 may be ofany type including but not limited to volatile memory (such as RAM),non-volatile memory (such as ROM, flash memory, etc.), or anycombination thereof. The system memory 706 may include an operatingsystem 720, a messaging application 722, and a program data 724. Themessaging application 722 may display a conversation of grouped messagesin response to a detection of a selection of a message summaryassociated with one of the grouped messages. An attachment control tomanage attachments in the conversation may be generated in response toan identification of the attachments in the grouped messages. Inresponse to an activation of the attachment control, an attachment dropdown menu may be displayed. The attachment drop down menu may include alisting of the attachments. Components of the messaging application 722(such as a user interface) may also be displayed on a display deviceassociated with the computing device 700. An example of the displaydevice may include a hardware screen that may be communicatively coupledto the computing device 700. The display device may include a touchbased device that detects gestures such as a touch action. The displaydevice may also provide feedback in response to detected gestures (orany other form of input) by transforming a user interface of themessaging application 722, displayed by the touch based device. Theprogram data 724 may also include, among other data, attachment 728, orthe like, as described herein. The attachment 728 may include an audiofile, a video file, an image file, a text file, and an animation file,among others.

The computing device 700 may have additional features or functionality,and additional interfaces to facilitate communications between the basicconfiguration 702 and any desired devices and interfaces. For example, abus/interface controller 730 may be used to facilitate communicationsbetween the basic configuration 702 and one or more data storage devices732 via a storage interface bus 734. The data storage devices 732 may beone or more removable storage devices 736, one or more non-removablestorage devices 738, or a combination thereof. Examples of the removablestorage and the non-removable storage devices may include magnetic diskdevices, such as flexible disk drives and hard-disk drives (HDD),optical disk drives such as compact disk (CD) drives or digitalversatile disk (DVD) drives, solid state drives (SSD), and tape drives,to name a few. Example computer storage media may include volatile andnonvolatile, removable, and non-removable media implemented in anymethod or technology for storage of information, such ascomputer-readable instructions, data structures, program modules, orother data.

The system memory 706, the removable storage devices 736, and thenon-removable storage devices 738 may be examples of computer storagemedia. Computer storage media may include, but may not be limited to,RAM, ROM, EEPROM, flash memory or other memory technology, CD-ROM,digital versatile disks (DVD), solid state drives, or other opticalstorage, magnetic cassettes, magnetic tape, magnetic disk storage orother magnetic storage devices, or any other medium which may be used tostore the desired information and which may be accessed by the computingdevice 700. Any such computer storage media may be part of the computingdevice 700.

The computing device 700 may also include an interface bus 740 forfacilitating communication from various interface devices (for example,one or more output devices 742, one or more peripheral interfaces 744,and one or more communication devices 766) to the basic configuration702 via the bus/interface controller 730. Some of the example outputdevices 742 may include a graphics processing unit 748 and an audioprocessing unit 750, which may be configured to communicate to variousexternal devices, such as a display or speakers via one or more A/Vports 752. One or more example peripheral interfaces 744 may include aserial interface controller 754 or a parallel interface controller 756,which may be configured to communicate with external devices, such asinput devices (for example, keyboard, mouse, pen, voice input device,touch input device, etc.) or other peripheral devices (for example,printer, scanner, etc.) via one or more I/O ports 758. An examplecommunication device 766 may include a network controller 760, which maybe arranged to facilitate communications with one or more othercomputing devices 762 over a network communication link via one or morecommunication ports 764. The one or more other computing devices 762 mayinclude servers, client equipment, and comparable devices.

The network communication link may be one example of a communicationmedia. Communication media may be embodied by computer-readableinstructions, data structures, program modules, or other data in amodulated data signal, such as a carrier wave or other transportmechanism, and may include any information delivery media. A “modulateddata signal” may be a signal that has one or more of the modulated datasignal characteristics set or changed in such a manner as to encodeinformation in the signal. By way of example, and not limitation,communication media may include wired media such as a wired network ordirect-wired connection, and wireless media such as acoustic, radiofrequency (RF), microwave, infrared (IR), and other wireless media. Theterm computer-readable media, as used herein, may include both storagemedia and communication media.

The computing device 700 may be implemented as a part of a generalpurpose or specialized server, mainframe, or similar computer, whichincludes any of the above functions. The computing device 700 may alsobe implemented as a personal computer including both laptop computer andnon-laptop computer configurations.

Example embodiments may also include methods to provide an attachmentcontrol to manage attachments in a conversation. These methods may beimplemented in any number of ways, including the structures describedherein. One such way may be by machine operations, using devices of thetype described in the present disclosure. Another optional way may befor one or more of the individual operations of the methods to beperformed in conjunction with one or more human operators performingsome of the operations while other operations may be performed bymachines. These human operators need not be co-located with each other,but each may be with a machine that performs a portion of the program.In other examples, the human interaction may be automated such as bypre-selected criteria that may be machine automated.

FIG. 8 illustrates a logic flow diagram for a process to provide anattachment control to manage attachments in a conversation, according toembodiments. Process 800 may be implemented on a messaging application.

Process 800 begins with operation 810, where a selection of a messagesummary may be detected. A conversation of grouped messages may bedisplayed at operation 820. The grouped messages may include a selectedmessage associated with the selected message summary. Attachments of thegrouped messages may be identified at operation 830. An attachmentcontrol to manage the attachments may be generated at operation 840. Atoperation 850, the attachment control may be displayed in proximity tothe conversation. In response to an activation of the attachmentcontrol, an attachment drop down menu may be displayed at operation 860.The attachment drop down menu may include a listing of the attachments.

The operations included in process 800 are for illustration purposes. Amessaging application according to embodiments may be implemented bysimilar processes with fewer or additional steps, as well as indifferent order of operations using the principles described herein.

According to some examples, a computing device to provide an attachmentcontrol to manage attachments in a conversation may be described. Thecomputing device may include a display device, a memory, and a processorcoupled to the memory and the display device. The processor may executea messaging application. The messaging application may be configured todetect a selection of a message summary, display, on the display device,the conversation of grouped messages that includes a selected messageassociated with the selected message summary, identify attachments ofthe grouped messages, generate the attachment control to manage theattachments, display the attachment control in proximity to theconversation, and in response to an activation of the attachmentcontrol, display an attachment drop down menu, where the attachment dropdown menu includes a listing of the attachments.

According to further examples, the messaging application may be furtherconfigured to display a number of the attachments of the groupedmessages on the attachment control. The attachment control adjacent maybe displayed to the conversation. A subset of the attachments associatedwith the selected message may be positioned on a top section of theattachment drop down menu.

According to other examples, the messaging application may be furtherconfigured to detect a selection of one of the attachments in theattachment drop down menu and display a control menu that includesactions to be performed on the selected attachment. The messagingapplication may be further configured to detect a selection of a “saveto cloud” action from the control menu and save the selected attachmentto a remote storage provided by a cloud-based service. The messagingapplication may be further configured to detect a selection of adownload action from the control menu and save the selected attachmentto a local storage. The messaging application may be further configuredto detect a selection of an “edit a copy” action from the control menuand display the selected attachment in an edit user interface to allow auser to edit the selected attachment. The messaging application may befurther configured to detect a selection of a “go to the message” actionfrom the control menu and scroll the conversation to one of the groupedmessages associated with the selected attachment. The messagingapplication may be further configured to detect a selection of a forwardaction from the control menu and generate a message that includes theselected attachment. The messaging application may be further configuredto provide one or more ordering actions on the attachment drop down menuto order the attachments based on attributes associated with theattachments that include one or more of: an attachment type, a receivedtimestamp, an importance flag, a sender, a view frequency, and an editfrequency.

According to some examples, a method that is executed on a computingdevice to provide an attachment control to manage attachments in aconversation may be described. The method may include detecting aselection of a message summary, displaying the conversation of groupedmessages that includes a selected message associated with the selectedmessage summary, identifying attachments of the grouped messages,generating the attachment control to manage the attachments, displayingthe attachment control adjacent to the conversation, and in response toan activation of the attachment control, displaying an attachment dropdown menu, where the attachment drop down menu includes a listing of theattachments.

According to other examples, the method may further include detecting aselection of a “download all” action on the attachment drop down menuand saving the attachments to a local storage. The method may furtherinclude detecting a selection of a “save all to cloud” action on theattachment drop down menu and saving the attachments to a remote storageprovided by a cloud-based service. The method may further includedetecting a selection of one of the attachments in the attachment dropdown menu, where the selection is detected as one of: a tap and holdinput, a click and hold input, a double tap input, and a double clickinput, displaying the content of the selected attachment on a documentpresentation user interface, where the document presentation userinterface is presented adjacent to a communication application userinterface that displays the conversation, and providing a documentmanagement menu on the document presentation user interface, where thedocument management menu includes management actions to allow a user toedit the content of the selected attachment.

According to some examples, a computer-readable memory device withinstructions stored thereon to provide an attachment control to manageattachments in a conversation may be described. The instructions mayinclude actions that are similar to method described above.

According to some examples, a means to provide an attachment control tomanage attachments in a conversation may be described. The means toprovide an attachment control to manage attachments in a conversationmay include a means to detect a selection of a message summary, a meansto display, on the display device, the conversation of grouped messagesthat includes a selected message associated with the selected messagesummary, a means to identify attachments of the grouped messages, ameans to generate the attachment control to manage the attachments, ameans to display the attachment control in proximity to theconversation, and a means to display an attachment drop down menu, wherethe attachment drop down menu includes a listing of the attachments inresponse to an activation of the attachment control.

The above specification, examples and data provide a completedescription of the manufacture and use of the composition of theembodiments. Although the subject matter has been described in languagespecific to structural features and/or methodological acts, it is to beunderstood that the subject matter defined in the appended claims is notnecessarily limited to the specific features or acts described above.Rather, the specific features and acts described above are disclosed asexample forms of implementing the claims and embodiments.

What is claimed is:
 1. A computing device to provide an attachmentcontrol to manage attachments in a conversation, the computing devicecomprising: a display device; a memory; a processor coupled to thememory and the display device, the processor executing a messagingapplication in conjunction with instructions stored in the memory,wherein the messaging application is configured to: detect a selectionof a message summary; display, on the display device, the conversationof grouped messages that includes a selected message associated with theselected message summary; identify attachments of the grouped messages;generate the attachment control to manage the attachments; display theattachment control in proximity to the conversation; and in response toan activation of the attachment control, display an attachment drop downmenu, wherein the attachment drop down menu includes a listing of theattachments.
 2. The computing device of claim 1, wherein the messagingapplication is further configured to: display a number of theattachments of the grouped messages on the attachment control.
 3. Thecomputing device of claim 1, wherein the messaging application isfurther configured to: display the attachment control adjacent to theconversation.
 4. The computing device of claim 1, wherein the messagingapplication is further configured to: position a subset of theattachments associated with the selected message on a top section of theattachment drop down menu.
 5. The computing device of claim 1, whereinthe messaging application is further configured to: detect a selectionof one of the attachments in the attachment drop down menu; and displaya control menu that includes actions to be performed on the selectedattachment.
 6. The computing device of claim 5, wherein the messagingapplication is further configured to: detect a selection of a “save tocloud” action from the control menu; and save the selected attachment toa remote storage provided by a cloud-based service.
 7. The computingdevice of claim 5, wherein the messaging application is furtherconfigured to: detect a selection of a download action from the controlmenu; and save the selected attachment to a local storage.
 8. Thecomputing device of claim 5, wherein the messaging application isfurther configured to: detect a selection of an “edit a copy” actionfrom the control menu; and display the selected attachment in an edituser interface to allow a user to edit the selected attachment.
 9. Thecomputing device of claim 5, wherein the messaging application isfurther configured to: detect a selection of a “go to the message”action from the control menu; and scroll the conversation to one of thegrouped messages associated with the selected attachment.
 10. Thecomputing device of claim 5, wherein the messaging application isfurther configured to: detect a selection of a forward action from thecontrol menu; and generate a message that includes the selectedattachment.
 11. The computing device of claim 1, wherein the messagingapplication is further configured to: provide one or more orderingcontrols on the attachment drop down menu to order the attachments basedon attributes associated with the attachments that include one or moreof: an attachment type, a received timestamp, an importance flag, asender, a view frequency, and an edit frequency.
 12. A method executedon a computing device to provide an attachment control to manageattachments in a conversation, the method comprising: detecting aselection of a message summary; displaying the conversation of groupedmessages that includes a selected message associated with the selectedmessage summary; identifying attachments of the grouped messages;generating the attachment control to manage the attachments; displayingthe attachment control adjacent to the conversation; and in response toan activation of the attachment control, displaying an attachment dropdown menu, wherein the attachment drop down menu includes a listing ofthe attachments.
 13. The method of claim 12, further comprising:detecting a selection of a “download all” action on the attachment dropdown menu; and saving the attachments to a local storage.
 14. The methodof claim 12, further comprising: detecting a selection of a “save all tocloud” action on the attachment drop down menu; and saving theattachments to a remote storage provided by a cloud-based service. 15.The method of claim 12, further comprising: detecting a selection of oneof the attachments in the attachment drop down menu, wherein theselection is detected as one of: a tap and hold input, a click and holdinput, a double tap input, and a double click input.
 16. The method ofclaim 15, further comprising: displaying the content of the selectedattachment on a document presentation user interface, wherein thedocument presentation user interface is presented adjacent to acommunication application user interface that displays the conversation.17. The method of claim 16, further comprising: providing a documentmanagement menu on the document presentation user interface, wherein thedocument management menu includes management actions to allow a user toedit the content of the selected attachment.
 18. A computer-readablememory device with instructions stored thereon to provide an attachmentcontrol to manage attachments in a conversation, the instructionscomprising: detecting a selection of a message summary; displaying theconversation of grouped messages that includes a selected messageassociated with the selected message summary; identifying attachments ofthe grouped messages; generating the attachment control to manage theattachments; displaying the attachment control adjacent to theconversation; and in response to an activation of the attachmentcontrol, displaying an attachment drop down menu, wherein the attachmentdrop down menu includes a listing of the attachments.
 19. Thecomputer-readable memory device of claim 18, wherein the instructionsfurther comprise: detecting a selection of one of the attachments in theattachment drop down menu; displaying a control menu that includesactions to be performed on the selected attachment; detecting aselection of an “edit a copy” action from the control menu; anddisplaying the selected attachment in an edit user interface to allow auser to edit the selected attachment.
 20. The computer-readable memorydevice of claim 18, wherein the instructions further comprise: detectinga selection of one of the attachments in the attachment drop down menu,wherein the selection is detected as one of: a tap and hold input, aclick and hold input, a double tap input, and a double click input;displaying a content of the selected attachment on a documentpresentation user interface, wherein the document presentation userinterface is presented adjacent to a communication application userinterface that displays the conversation; and providing a documentmanagement menu on the document presentation user interface, wherein thedocument management menu includes management actions to allow a user toedit the content of the selected attachment.